INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - Seventh Sunday of Easter

ACTS 1:6-14.  With Jesus gone from their midst and the promised kingdom of the Messiah not yet a reality, what was to happen next?  Luke answered this question not only for that time, but for all time.

    The power of God that was at work in Jesus had now passed to the assembled community of men and women who followed him from Galilee to Jerusalem, had witnessed to his resurrection, and now formed a visible community of faith awaiting his return. The church is still that visible community of today.

PSALM 68:1-10, 32-35.  Unique in the psalter, this psalm has been described as a collection of short songs and fragments possibly used in a sacred procession at some festival. It celebrated the sovereignty and providence of God.

1 PETER 4:12-14; 5:6-11.  A threatened persecution seemed close at hand.  The writer encouraged the faithful to remain steadfast after the example of Jesus in his suffering.  The hope of the afflicted rested on the promise of the constant presence of Christ who had called them to share his glory.

    The beauty and resolute faith of the passage still strengthen modern disciples of Jesus who may well grow weary in a violent and unbelieving world.

JOHN 17:1-11.  It is most unlikely that these are actual words of a prayer by Jesus himself.  More probably they are a meditation by the author of the Gospel on the humanity and divinity of Christ as seen in his earthly ministry, and on the divine character of the ministry committed to the church.

    At the heart of this passage is the essential message of John's Gospel: Jesus has been fully revealed as the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God with all divine authority and power.  As such he gives the eternal life of God to those who believe in his true nature now glorified by the resurrection.

A MORE COMPLETE AANALYSIS:

ACTS 1:6-14.  The ascension of Christ is told three times in the NT – here, in Luke 24:51 and in the 2^nd century addition to Mark’s Gospel (16:19). The concept of ascension to the heavens, however, was common in the Hellenistic world. It was generally interpreted as a sign of divinity and immortality for kings, heroes, prophets or holy men to be so transported to the realm of the gods. Platonism extended this symbol of immortality to all humanity. While similarly demonstrating the eternal divinity of Jesus, this story also signaled the beginning of the messianic kingdom. This, of course, involved a reinterpretation of the Jewish scriptures, as is obvious from vss. 6-8. There are only two instances of ascension in the OT - Enoch (Gen.5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Jewish noncanonical writings also record the ascensions of Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and Ezra following the Hellenistic model.

The ascension of Christ was different in that it appears to be a reinterpretation of Psalm 110 which celebrates the supposed ascension of a Judean monarch to the right hand of God. Confirmation of this new reinterpretation by the apostolic church can be found in the frequent quotations and allusions to it throughout the NT: Matt. 22:42-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; twice in Acts 5:31 and 7:55; four times in the Pauline epistles (Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1); once each in 1 Peter 3:22 and Revelation 3:21, but especially Hebrews where it is referred to eleven times (1:13; 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11;, 15, 17, 21; 8:1; 10:12-13; 12:2.) The figure of the Lamb standing by the throne of God in many references in Revelation also confirms the ascension as the church then understood it.

As it stands in this reading, the interpretative midrash tells a simple story be in which a number of historical facts may well be imbedded. With Jesus gone from their midst and the promised kingdom of the Messiah not yet a reality, what was to happen next?  The assembled disciples posed the question in so many words. Jesus answered it, not only for that time, but for all time. The spiritual power of God that was at work in Jesus had now passed to the assembled community of men and women who followed him from Galilee to Jerusalem, had witnessed to his resurrection, and now formed a visible community of faith awaiting his return. The church remains that visible community of believers to this day.

Significantly, the story has a missionary thrust which no one can ignore. When empowered as promised by Christ, they were to become his witnesses to the world (vs. 8). In effect, this story gives “Theophilus” (1:1) the theme and form for the rest of the book. It transforms the work into a missionary tract as distinct from recorded history. This isn’t the story of how the gospel reached the heart of the Roman empire nor did it provide a factual account of what the apostles said and did. This is what the early Christian community thought about itself, who they were and what motivated them to do what the Jews of Thessalonica said of them: “These people have been turning the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6)

The little coterie spending their time at prayer (vss. 13-14) may well have included many more than are named. (Cf. vs. 15 - “120 persons”) Of particular importance is the presence of Jesus’ mother and brothers. Whereas Luke had earlier reported this family to have been alienated from Jesus (Luke 8:19-21), here they have no only been reconciled but have become believers in his resurrection and part of the missionary community. Some scholars have assumed that Mary’s presence contributed to the tradition about Jesus’ early years. There is no doubt, however, that James, the brother of Jesus, subsequently became the leader of the Jerusalem church. (12:17; 15:12)

PSALM 68:1-10, 32-35.  Unique in the psalter, this psalm has been described as a collection of short songs and fragments probably used in a sacred procession at some festival.  It celebrated the sovereignty and providence of God exhibited in Israel’s covenantal history. This reading consists of the opening and closing songs.

In an introductory segment (vss.1-3), the psalmist raises an exultant call for adoration of Yahweh by a righteous assembly processing toward the temple. The remainder of this segment (vss. 4-10) celebrates the Israelite’s march from Sinai to Canaan with Yahweh leading them and providing for their needs. Accordingly, it is not beyond imagination that the procession could have been a re-enactment of the Exodus. The final segment draws the lessons of Israel’s history to the kingdoms of the world. Divine sovereignty rests on spiritual power, a power conveyed to Israel through their worship.

As noted above, the ascension symbolizes Christ’s sovereignty with God which he commissioned the apostolic church to extend to the whole world. This psalm has the same message and mission, but attributed to Israel during the postexilic period. It is not difficult to see why, with its messianic convictions concerning Jesus, the apostolic church could read such a psalm such with profound insight into its missionary task.

1 PETER 4:12-14; 5:6-11.  A threatened persecution seemed close at hand.  The writer encouraged the faithful to remain disciplined and steadfast after the example of Jesus in his suffering.  The hope of the afflicted rested on the promise of the constant presence of Christ who had called them to share his glory.

Some ancient texts add the words “and of power” after “the spirit of glory” and before the clause “which is the Spirit of God” in vs. 14.  The passage thus forms a concise summary of the whole Passion story - the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension and the gift of power at Pentecost. As well, the expectation of Christ’s return in glory provides the faithful with the joyful hope they need to withstand their persecution.

The author vividly reiterates that torment before which the faithful are to humble themselves while casting their anxiety on God’s love. Is the reference to the adversary as a roaring lion an actual remembrance of the death some of the martyrs had already suffered perhaps in the Roman coliseum (5:8)? Note, however, that it is not to worldly power of the imperial authorities, but to “the mighty hand of God” that they are to humble themselves. The writer sees the persecution as God’s way of bringing them to a much greater glory (vs. 6). He encourages them to resist the temptation offered to them, presumably their lives in return for an act of obeisance before the image of the emperor. He goes on to inform them that the same kind of suffering is shared by many others elsewhere. After enduring a short period of distress, there awaits the eternal glory of Christ to which they have been called. A brief doxology ends what may well have been a very moving sermon.

Though referring to events confronting those who first received the letter, the beauty and resolute faith of the passage still strengthen modern disciples of Jesus who may well grow weary in a violent and unbelieving world.

JOHN 17:1-11.  It is most unlikely that these are actual words of a prayer by Jesus himself.  Scholars have tended to give it the title of “Jesus’ high priestly prayer,” because it includes three main topics: his own pending death and departure to be with God, his disciples’ continuing ministry in the world, and the mission of the universal church. More probably this is a meditation by the author of the Gospel on the humanity and divinity of Christ as seen in his earthly ministry, and on the divine character of the ministry committed to the church. At the heart of this passage is the essential message of John's Gospel: Jesus has been fully revealed as the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God with all divine authority and power.  As such he gives the eternal life of God to those who believe in his true nature now glorified by the resurrection.

The words which stand out in the whole of this passage are “glorify” and its noun, “glory.” They occur no less than six times, five of these in the verb form so characteristic of John’s Gospel and particularly in the final discourse (chs. 13-17). The “glorifying” of Christ, of course, occurred in his death, resurrection and ascension. As William Barclay noted, “To Jesus the Cross was the glory of life and the way to the glory of eternity.” (*Daily Bible Readings: The Gospel of John.* Edinburgh: Church of Scotland, 1957) It was in his obedience to death, “even death on the cross,” that Jesus glorified God, as the primitive church sang in the hymn Paul quoted in Phil 2:8. More than that, writing perhaps 60 or more years after the resurrection, John knew that it was not Jesus’ death, but his resurrection, which so impelled the apostolic church to witness for Christ to the point of martyrdom. Crucifixion was common, resurrection unique; and it was on this that the authority of the church’s preaching rested.

Another aspect of Jesus’ glorification can be found in vs. 5 of this reading. It was his way back to the glory he had with God before the creation of the world. In his *Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament,* (London: SCM Press, 1958) Alan Richardson stated that the idea of a pre-existent Messiah was not new. In Judaism, “such a conception was only a poetic way of emphasizing the religious significance of the thing; and the Torah, the Temple and the Messiah were already thought of in this manner.” (157) The Jewish concept of Wisdom which had much in common with the Stoic conception of *logos* had acquired a similar characteristic. So in 1:1-14 John could write of the *logos* becoming flesh in Jesus and dwelling among us so that “we beheld his glory.” Now, at the end of his earthly life, Jesus was to be restored “with the glory (he) had in (God’s) presence before the world existed.” This is John’s way of defining the ascension of which we read in Acts 1:6-11.

Having consecrated himself to his pending death, resurrection and ascension, Jesus’ prayer moved to the consecration of the disciples (vss. 6-19) of which this reading includes only the first part. Here John overstated the real situation. According to this prayer, when Jesus left the disciples to carry on his work, he had fully instructed them and they had believed all he taught them. Contrast this with the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the denial of Peter and the disciples’ initial disbelief in the resurrection.

Again John picks up on the “glorification” of Christ in the continuing ministry of the disciples in the world (vs. 10). This prayer emphasizes two ways in which this was to happen through their work: their full identification with Jesus and with God; and the unity of the apostolic teaching. We know from the early history of the church that this plea was in vain. The church struggled with two significant problems during its first few decades, and its still does so after two millennia: The faithfulness of its converts and the traumatic disunity in the way and to whom the gospel is proclaimed. We know too that these issues were as prominent in John’s community as elsewhere. In fact, John’s Gospel had been written because of these very issues. By putting them into this ‘high priestly prayer,’ John recalled his community to the primary purpose of the church: to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ so that all the world may believe and be saved.

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